Just a few spots remain for Michigan's 2014 football class

Jan. 18, 2014

Southfield defensive lineman Malik McDowell / Andre J. Jackson/DFP

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Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

With 2½ weeks until signing day Feb. 5, Michigan’s 2014 football class has only a few spots remaining.

The Wolverines have 16 committed players in the class, though seven already are locked in as they’re attending U-M classes and participating in team activities.

With nine other committed players, that leaves two known spots, according to recruiting services. Attrition from the current team, whether fifth-year seniors not returning or players transferring, could open a few more spots.

So U-M still has a few targets for those final spots.

The biggest target is Southfield’s Malik McDowell, ranked as the state’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 33 player nationally by Rivals.com. When the contact period started Thursday, his school was flooded with recruiters trying to woo the 6-foot-6, 292-pound defensive end.

Among his finalists, he has visited U-M and Michigan State many times informally and is taking official visits to Florida State (this weekend), Louisiana State (Friday) and Ohio State (Jan. 31), according to Rivals.com.

Late in the recruiting season, U-M decided it needed a tailback in the 2014 class and is pursuing two targets.

The first late offer was made to Minneapolis Washburn four-star tailback Jeffrey Jones, Rivals’ No. 92 overall prospect. Though he committed to Minnesota, recent attention from Florida, Iowa State and Michigan has intrigued him, with a U-M visit scheduled for Jan. 31, according to GoBlueWolverine.com.

“I really can’t tell you (what my decision will be based on) until I take my last two officials and see what Florida and University of Michigan have to offer,” he told GoBlueWolverine last week.

He might not want to wait. Sarasota (Fla.) Booker three-star tailback Marlon Mack, a recent UCLA decommit, was offered by U-M this week, according to his Twitter feed. He posted at @Marlon_Mack2 he was on a visit to Louisville this weekend. But as soon as he got the U-M offer, a few national experts from 247Sports predicted he would commit to U-M.